Grundlebletch and the Gecko discuss things. |
Paint the White Roses Red The caucus race resulted in the formation of a few friendships amongst the participants. One that we have already noticed was that between the author and the Phoenician tailor, Euripides. All of the others seemed a bit unlikely at first, but the strangest was definitely that between the largest member and the smallest. I speak, of course, of Grundlebletch, the troll, and the Gecko. For some reason, these became inseparable and were never seen apart. And so it was not unusual to see them walking through the streets together or sharing a pint of bitter in a cozy pub or bar. As it happened, they were sitting on a park bench, enjoying the sunshine (Grundle was a bridge troll and had discovered long ago that the sun does not cause a troll to shrivel into a stick of jerky, as troll tradition would have it) when I saw them. I was waiting for a bus nearby and this is the conversation I overheard. It was the gecko who spoke first, as I recall. âNice weather weâre having, isnât it Grundle?â The troll gave a start, as if heâd just been awoken from a doze. He turned to look at the gecko. âI âave noticed that often âappens when the sun is aht.â âToo true, too true,â mused Gecko. He was silent for a while but then began again. âI was thinking the other day about mistakes. Well, one in particular and what I could do to make it better. Do you ever make mistakes, Grundle?â âOrl the time,â replied the troll. âIn fact, I bâlieve it is the normal lot oâ the âonest troll to lead a life guided by hinnocent mistakes, unâappy choices and âarf-witted decisions. Itâs âow I seem to hopperate, anyâow.â âThat must be very distressing for you,â commented the gecko. âHow do you cope with it all?â A serious expression came upon the trollâs homely face as he thought about this. His eventual answer seemed to me the height of wisdom, an unexpected thing to be proceeding from the mind of a troll. âI do not see why it âas to be distressinâ at orl. Becos it is the way I runs me life, it seems quite natchâral to me and I do not worry abaht it at orl. Mistakes is the way we gets from one moment to the next and thatâs âow it is fer a troll.â There was a slight pause before he continued. âAnâ Iâll tell yer another thing. I âave noticed that, even though itâs orl a mistake, everythinâ turns aht fer the best. Even the worst mistake gets sorted aht in the end and nothing is the disaster we expectid.â Silence descended upon the pair when the troll had finished his speech. It was clear that the gecko was thinking hard about what his friend had said, and the troll was beginning to doze off again in the sun. Eventually the gecko piped up again. âDâyou know, Grundle, I think youâve solved my problem for me.â The troll turned to look at him. âEh? Wot dâyer mean?â âWell,â began the gecko, âIâve been worrying about the way I ended a business partnership I had with a chameleon a while back. Nothing seemed to be going right and, in a moment of annoyance, we decided to go our separate ways. Iâve been thinking that maybe I was too hasty and we should have tried to keep the business going.â âAnd wot diffârence âave I made?â asked Grundle. âYou made me think about how things are now,â said Gecko. âI know for a fact that my partner went off and founded a completely unrelated business that is doing quite well. And I am quite happy, being as I am and having a friend like you. So it looks as though it wasnât a mistake at all. Maybe it was just how things turned out and life went on without even a hiccup.â âNow yer gettinâ it,â said Grundle. âMistakes is only mistakes if yer let âem be mistakes.â My bus arrived at that moment and I was carried off to other places, all as different as one could imagine. Word Count: 696 For Wonderland Challenge, 03.05.20 Prompt: Mistakes happen. |